There are no words

Now is the time
to be quiet.
Now is the time
to sit in grief together.
Now is the time
to join our hearts,
our souls
with those who have suffered
deep loss and unimaginable violence.
There are no words.
There are no words.
Do not confuse this silence
with inaction.
This is the most important
and most difficult work
any of us can do right now.

And then
may our words
"my thoughts and prayers are with . . ."
be evidenced in
the passion of our heart,
the ache in our back,
the sweat on our brow,
the callouses on our hands,
the worn out soles on our shoes,
and the fatigue in our bones.
Our pious words
must be met with action verbs
that sweep us off our knees
onto our feet,
into our streets,
into our statehouses,
into our neighborhoods,
into our places of worship,
into the world,
and back
onto our knees.
May it be so for me.

In your mercy,